Why do Americans celebrate Leif Ericson day?

Answer by  Jose87 (18)

Americans celebrate Leif Ericson day to honor the norse explorer Leif Ericson for bringing the first Europeans to North America.

Answer by  YC72 (35)

Many Americans celebrate that day because they believe that there is evidence that Leif Ericson, not Christopher Columbus, was in fact the first European to have landed on the North American continent.

Answer by  dhuoda (1431)

There is a tradition that Leif Ericson, a Viking explorer who lived around 1000 AD, was the first European to land on mainland America and this commemorates that event. Others, including Irish saints, may have visited the fringes of America and Greenland before that, but the whole issue is uncertain.

Answer by  emmy222 (35)

Americans like to celebrate any holiday and tend not to know exactly why they do it. Probably another excuse to get wasted and party. As far as I know actually Americans don't really do much to celebrate this day, even if it is a "national holiday". I didn't even know when it was.